Ron Holgate, Clifton Duncan and More to Lead Old Globe's THE SCOTTSBORO BOYS; Full Cast Announced!

The Old Globe today announced the cast and creative team for the West Coast Premiere of The Scottsboro Boys, the critically acclaimed musical about an infamous chapter in American history.

Nominated for 12 Tony Awards, The Scottsboro Boys features music and lyrics by the legendary team of John Kander and Fred Ebb, libretto by David Thompson, musical direction by Eric Ebbenga and direction and choreography by five-time Tony Award winner Susan Stroman. The Scottsboro Boys will run April 29 – June 10 on the Donald and Darlene Shiley Stage in the Old Globe Theatre, part of the Globe’s Conrad Prebys Theatre Center. Preview performances run April 29 – May 4. The Scottsboro Boys is presented in association with American Conservatory Theater. Opening night is Saturday, May 5 at 8:00 p.m. Tickets can be purchased online at www.TheOldGlobe.org, by phone at (619) 23-GLOBE or by visiting the Box Office at 1363 Old Globe Way in Balboa Park.

The Scottsboro Boys is a daring new musical based on the notorious “Scottsboro” case in which nine young African American men were unjustly accused of rape in 1930s Alabama. Their lives would eventually spark the Civil Rights Movement. With arresting originality, innovative staging and a breathtaking score, The Scottsboro Boys received 12 Tony Award nominations and was hailed by Entertainment Weekly as “the best new musical of the year.”

The cast of The Scottsboro Boys features Tony Award winner Ron Holgate as The Interlocutor, Clifton Duncan as Haywood Patterson, Jared Joseph as Mr. Bones and JC Montgomery as Mr. Tambo. Holgate won the Tony Award for Featured Actor in a Musical in 1776 and has also been seen on Broadway in A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, Guys and Dolls, Annie Get Your Gun and Kiss Me, Kate. Duncan’s credits include Lost in the Stars at City Center Encores!, Twelfth Night at The Public Theater and the hip-hop solo piece The uniVERSE Project, which he created at Ars Nova. Joseph was last seen in the National Tour of Dreamgirls and is working on Bill T. Jones’ Superfly. Montgomery was part of the original Broadway company of The Scottsboro Boys and has also appeared in the original Broadway productions of The Color Purple, Thou Shalt Not, Swing! and Parade.

The cast also includes David Bazemore (Olen Montgomery), Nile Bullock (Eugene Williams), Christopher James Culberson (Andy Wright), Eric Jackson (Clarence Norris), KendRick Jones (Willie Roberson), James T. Lane (Ozie Powell), Clifton Oliver (Charles Weems), Clinton Roane (Roy Wright) and C. Kelly Wright (The Lady), with Audrey Martells (The Lady Understudy) and Shavey Brown and Max Kumangai (Swings).

The Old Globe’s production of The Scottsboro Boys reunites the original creative team of Jeff Whiting (Associate Director and Choreographer), Beowulf Boritt (Scenic Design), Toni-Leslie James (Costume Design) and Ken Billington (Lighting Design). Boritt and Billington were nominated for Tony Awards for their designs. The creative team also includes Jon Weston (Sound Design), Eric Santagata (Assistant Choreographer), Rick Sordelet (Fight Director), Janet Foster, CSA (Casting) and Joshua Halperin (Stage Manager).

This production is supported, in part, through a gift from Season Sponsors Peter Cooper and Norman Blachford.

The Old Globe will present three educational seminars about The Scottsboro Boys and the historical significance of the Scottsboro legal case. Admission is free, but reservations are required for these special events. Please email RSVP@theoldglobe.org to reserve a seat for one or more of these seminars.

· INSIGHTS SEMINAR: Monday, April 30 at 7:00 p.m. (Reception at 6:30 p.m.)
Director and choreographer Susan Stroman and playwright David Thompson will discuss the history of the production and the issues they faced in the creation of the musical.

· DIVERSITY IN THE ARTS: Monday, May 7 at 7:00 p.m. (Reception at 6:30 p.m.)
Join Delicia Turner Sonnenberg (MOXIE Theatre) and Seema Sueko (Mo’olelo Performing Arts Company) for a conversation about how theatre artists — both present and past — explore stories about race on stage.

· TURNING POINTS IN SAN DIEGO CIVIL RIGHTS HISTORY
Monday, June 4 at 7:00 p.m. (Reception at 6:30 p.m.)
The Scottsboro case galvanized a generation of African Americans and became a turning point in civil rights history. Dr. Carrol Waymon and Dr. John Warren lead a discussion of the civil rights movement in San Diego.

John Kander and Fred Ebb (Music and Lyrics) have collaborated for the theater on Flora, the Red Menace, Cabaret (Tony Award, Best Composer and Lyricist), The Happy Time, Zorba, 70, Girls, 70, Chicago, The Act, Woman of the Year (Tony Award, Best Original Score), The Rink, Kiss of the Spider Woman (Tony Award, Best Original Score), The World Goes Round, Steel Pier, Curtains, All About Us, The Visit and The Scottsboro Boys. Their film work includes Funny Lady, Lucky Lady, Cabaret, New York, New York, Steppin' Out, Chicago, Kramer vs. Kramer, Places in the Heart, Still of the Night, Blue Skies Again. Their television credits include “Liza with a Z,” “Steppin' Out” (Emmy Award), “My Coloring Book,” the Academy Awards, “Baryshnikov on Broadway,” “Goldie and Liza Together,” “Breathing Lessons,” “The Boys Next Door” and “An Early Frost.” In 1985, “New York, New York” became the official anthem of New York City.

David Thompson (Libretto) wrote the books for the Broadway productions of The Scottsboro Boys (Tony and Drama Desk Award nominations, Hull-Warriner Award, Outer Critics Circle and Lucille Lortel Awards for Best Musical), Steel Pier (Tony nomination), and Thou Shalt Not as well as the script adaptation for the current revival of Chicago, now in its 15th year on Broadway. His upcoming Broadway credits include The Prince of Broadway. His Off Broadway credits include And the World Goes ‘Round (Drama Desk and Outer Critics Circle Awards) and the revival of Flora, the Red Menace (Drama Desk nomination). Thompson’s adaptation of A Christmas Carol is now in its 20th season at McCarter Theatre Center. This past spring, Thompson produced and wrote James Taylor’s critically-acclaimed Perspective Series for Carnegie Hall. His television work includes “Sondheim: A Celebration at Carnegie Hall,” the PBS specials “Razzle Dazzle,” “Bernstein on Broadway” and “The Music of Richard Rodgers” and, for “Great Performances,” “My Favorite Broadway: The Leading Ladies.”

Eric Ebbenga (Music Director) previously music directed The Scottsboro Boys at Philadelphia Theatre Company, where he has also music directed The Light in the Piazza (Barrymore Award) and Grey Gardens (Barrymore nomination). His other recent shows include Ordinary Days, The Threepenny Opera, Sunday in the Park with George (Barrymore nomination), See What I Wanna See, Candide, Assassins (Barrymore Award), Caroline, or Change (Barrymore nomination) and Sweeney Todd (Barrymore nomination).

Susan Stroman (Direction and Choreography) won critical acclaim for her direction and choreography of the Broadway production of The Scottsboro Boys. She directed and choreographed The Producers, winner of a record-making 12 Tony Awards including Best Direction and Best Choreography. She co-created, directed and choreographed the groundbreaking musical Contact for Lincoln Center Theater, winning the 2000 Tony Award for Best Choreography, as well as Drama Desk, Outer Critics Circle and Lucille Lortel Awards and a 2003 Emmy Award for “Live at Lincoln Center.” Her other Broadway credits include Oklahoma! (Drama Desk, Outer Critics Circle, Olivier Awards), Young Frankenstein, Thou Shalt Not, The Music Man (Outer Critics Circle Award), The Frogs, Steel Pier, Big, Show Boat (Tony, Outer Critics Circle Awards), Picnic and Crazy for You (Tony, Drama Desk, Outer Critics Circle, Olivier Awards). Her Off Broadway credits include The Scottsboro Boys (Lucille Lortel Award), And the World Goes ’Round (Outer Critics Circle Award), Flora, the Red Menace and Happiness. For 10 years she choreographed Madison Square Garden’s annual spectacular event A Christmas Carol (Outer Critics Circle Award). For New York City Opera she choreographed A Little Night Music, 110 in the Shade and Don Giovanni. For New York City Ballet, Stroman created Double Feature, a full-length ballet featuring the music of Irving Berlin and Walter Donaldson, and For the Love of Duke featuring the music of Duke Ellington. She has created the ballets But Not For Me for the Martha Graham Company and Take Five…More or Less for Pacific Northwest Ballet. Her choreography received an Emmy nomination for the HBO presentation Liza: Live from Radio City Music Hall starring Liza Minnelli. Her other television credits include co-conceiver/choreographer for PBS’s “Sondheim: A Celebration at Carnegie Hall” and “An Evening with the Boston Pops – A Tribute to Leonard Bernstein”. She received the American Choreography Award for her work on the Columbia Pictures feature film Center Stage. Stroman directed and choreographed The Producers: The Movie Musical, nominated for four Golden Globes. She is the recipient of the George Abbott Award for Outstanding Achievement in the Theatre and the winner of a record five Astaire Awards. Currently she is preparing for the upcoming Broadway show Prince of Broadway, opening fall 2012.

Tickets to The Scottsboro Boys can be purchased online at www.TheOldGlobe.org, by phone at (619) 23-GLOBE or by visiting the Box Office at 1363 Old Globe Way in Balboa Park. Performances begin on April 29 and continue through June 10. Ticket prices start at $39. Performance times: Previews: Sunday, April 29 at 7:00 p.m., Tuesday, May 1 at 7:00 p.m., Wednesday, May 2 at 7:00 p.m., Thursday, May 3 at 8:00 p.m. and Friday, May 4 at 8:00 p.m.

Regular Performances: Tuesday and Wednesday evenings at 7:00 p.m., Thursday, Friday and Saturday evenings at 8:00 p.m., Saturday and Sunday matinees at 2:00 p.m. and Sunday evenings at 7:00 p.m. There is a 2:00 p.m. matinee on Wednesday, May 30 and no matinee performance on Saturday, June 2. Discounts are available for full-time students, patrons 29 years of age and under, seniors and groups of 10 or more.